Bulldogs' Johnson is the real deal

Wed. November 09, 2011 at 1:17 a.m. | By Mike Duprez

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe had to go against his wishes and burn a redshirt Saturday night when he ran out of healthy running backs in the Demon Deacons’ 24-17 loss to Notre Dame.
If Grobe still needs running backs for the 2012 recruiting class, he need look no further than about 25 miles away in Thomasville.
It wouldn’t take long to run out of superlatives when describing the accomplishments of the Bulldogs’ Shaquan Johnson, who has made himself into one of the best players in the state.
Amazingly, Johnson is in just his first year at tailback after excelling as a wide receiver. From the first week, Johnson has set the tone. He has nearly 2,700 yards rushing and a total of 37 touchdowns. He has speed. He has the presence of following blockers and finding the hole. He runs through tackles.
And then came Saturday when Johnson rushed for a school single-game record 381 yards. He scored five touchdowns, the last one a spectacular 52-yard jaunt that hasn’t made it to YouTube yet but will. Johnson somehow juked a Surry Central defender into flailing at air. It’s stuff of instinct. Nobody teaches moves like that.
Johnson has flown a bit under the recruiting radar since this is his first year at tailback. All some college coach needs to do is look at that 52-yard touchdown and they’ll be sold on Johnson. Oh yeah, Johnson made that run despite an injured ankle.
There is a YouTube video on Johnson from the Davie County game and it’s a sight to see. Included is a tackle-busting 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 77-yard touchdown run in which he breaks containment and is off to the races.
Johnson can catch passes, too. Clutch passes. With the Bulldogs tied with Salisbury and less than a minute to go, Johnson ran a slant-and-go, getting open despite everybody in Cushwa Stadium knowing he was going to get the ball. Quarterback Shakeem Peterson hit Johnson in stride around midfield and the play went for an 80-yard touchdown that proved to be the deciding moment in the Central Carolina Conference race. Opposing defenses know Johnson was going to get the ball because that’s a typical cog in a Dickie Cline offense. The Bulldogs ran 102 offensive plays in the last two games of the regular season and Johnson touched the ball in 91 of them. And defenses still couldn’t stop him.
One knock supposedly against Johnson as a college recruit is his size. He’s 5-foot-10, 175 pounds. Think that’s too small? Well, the Wake player whose redshirt got burned, Orville Reynolds, is 5-foot-8, 175 pounds. If he can play for Wake, so can Johnson.
Appalachian State and Western Carolina are said to be looking at Johnson. Somebody’s going to sign him and they’re going to get a steal.

Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or mike.duprez@the-dispatch.com.